Miami Dolphins: Is Jaylen Waddle A Rookie of the Year Candidate?

When it comes to the rookie class of 2021, it seems every player is living up to the hype. Ja’Marr Chase has elevated the Cincinnati Bengals offense to an explosive attack. Mac Jones has been named the next big thing in New England. DeVonta Smith is paying off in Philadelphia, and those are just a few names on offense. With all the talent from this year’s draft producing, can Jaylen Waddle even crack the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation?

From the receiver standpoint, Waddle has to overcome fellow first-rounder Ja’Marr Chase. Statistically speaking, the Bengals WR is blowing Waddle away in yards and touchdowns, but the stats don’t always tell the tale. Waddle has more receptions for the Miami Dolphins and is on pace to break the rookie record. Pump the brakes on the 17 game season talk as Waddle will only need 5 more receptions to tie. He’ll need six to break Anquan Bolden’s 18-year-old record. Since he’s had 5 catches in at least 9 games with the Dolphins this year, he’ll more than likely tie that mark next week. Hold on to your asterisk there because not only would it be done in 16 games, Waddle also missed time. He was out a week on the covid protocols so that mark gets hit in 15 games instead of 17.

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Sure Ja’Marr Chase is having a flashier season thanks to more deep passes, but he’s almost 30 receptions behind Jaylen Waddle. While you can’t hold him back for it, Chase has a better group of receivers complimenting his skillset in Cincinnati too. Two Bengals, Chase, and Tee Higgins have hit 1,000 yards already and Tyler Boyd has an outside shot at 792 with 2 games left. Waddle is the only Miami Dolphins player close with 941.

From there it’s a steep drop-off with Mike Gesicki at barely over 70, and even steeper to the third-best Devante Parker just under 500 yards. To say that Chase is enjoying his success thanks to a more explosive offense isn’t an understatement. But you also have to take into consideration how the Miami Dolphins are using Jaylen Waddle. In their last matchup against the New Orleans Saints, Waddle was all over the field. Short routes, deeper routes, out of the backfield, he did it all. It seemed like there wasn’t a position in the passing game he didn’t line up in and found ways to push forward. Statistically, Waddle might be behind, but he’s proven to be a more versatile weapon for the Dolphins.

Then, of course, you have to compare Waddle to fellow rookie Mac Jones. Jones is another favorite for Rookie of the Year honors and is making strides as the year goes on. Again, pump the break on his unanimous vote. Yes, Mac Jones has the Patriots competitive again. However, it’s not as if they were down for long or at all. 2020 might have been the first time we haven’t seen the Pats win 10 games in a season. The struggles were more Cam Newton and still, New England managed 7 wins.

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Taking nothing away from Mac Jones, but other than Cam Newton, hasn’t every quarterback who came in for the Pats looked like a 10-game winner under Belichick? Remember when Matt Cassel went 11-5? The Patriots have proved multiple times that someone can step in and be efficient enough to win with a backup quarterback. If Mac Jones couldn’t go, the rhythm might be off. However there’s a good chance his backup, Brian Hoyer could come in and New England could survive.

With Jaylen Waddle out, Miami could make plays, but their offense looks totally different. Rather than having a player that is all over the field creating opportunities, the offense switches to more of a “take what you can get” approach. Their offense already struggles and relies heavily on defensive stops. If Waddle was out it becomes a lot harder to keep the chains moving.

There are plenty of Rookie of the Year candidates from this year’s draft but the top 3 are Chase, Jones, and Waddle. Jaylen Waddle deserves to be in the conversation despite how much the Dolphins offense is struggling. He’s consistently made plays and would be a lot more explosive if defenses had to focus on a more complimentary offense.